Inspiring a convergent engineering approach to measure and model the tissue microenvironment

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Tissue Microenvironment Research
• Multidisciplinary Science Integration

Background:

• The tissue microenvironment's (TiME) complexity and spatiotemporal organization present significant research challenges.
• Current advancements in studying TiME often occur in isolated fields, limiting comprehensive analysis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide an integrative overview of engineering principles for probing, sensing, modeling, and fabricating the TiME.
• To connect emerging technologies across chemical, optical, electrical, mechanical, and computational sciences.

Main Methods:

• Summarizing principles, capabilities, and scope of emerging engineering technologies.
• Reviewing breakthrough discoveries and innovations enabled by these technologies.
• Integrating diverse engineering approaches for a holistic view of the TiME.

Main Results:

• Detailed overview of engineering tools applicable to TiME research.
• Identification of innovations and discoveries across multiple scientific domains.
• Perspectives on applying integrated engineering to critical questions in disease and development.

Conclusions:

• An integrated engineering approach is crucial for fully understanding the TiME.
• This review bridges disciplinary gaps, offering a unified perspective on TiME research.
• Highlights the scientific and educational importance of interdisciplinary TiME studies.